How do I start a career in IT? Do I need to be a BTech in Computer Science or Information Technology to become a software engineer? The answer is NO. In my opinion anyone who can read English and who have patience to sit in front of the computer for 10 to 12 hours can make it big in the Information Technology. Of course you should have the aptitude and patience also. This article answers what is the career path if I start a career in IT.

For a normal person the career starts as a Software developer or Software programmer. The average salary of a software engineer can vary from INR 5000 to INR 50000 in the Indian Context. The initial salary depends upon your college and your ability to clear the selection process of big companies. He/She continues in that position depending upon the effort he/she puts and the skills developed. If the person is smart and hard working, he/she can be a project leader in 3 years time. There the average salary ranges from INR 25000 to INR 100000. If you are working in a company that has clients abroad(USA, Europe or Latin America), if you are doing really well then you can fly to the client area. If you stay there for long, you might directly become a manager skipping the project lead role.

IT or Software career path

Once you become a project lead in an IT firm, you will normally stop coding. After that all you need to concentrate is understanding your customer and understanding their business. If you understand the customer well and if you have a good communication skill, dedication and if you know people management you will surely become a manager. From there, it like any other industry. Based on the performance you will start climbing up the ladder. By that time you will have realized how to climb up the corporate ladder.

If you are core technical person who don’t want to manage people, you can select the consultant paths. When you become a consultant you will have to explain to other programmers or developers what you are doing. So if you just want to code or design, you can not grow up in the career but still you can learn a good salary by switching the companies. For example if you switch from a service company to a product company you can earn more money. That salary can be more than a manager in another software firm. Also if you are relocate to USA or Europe for the same programmer job you can earn more money. This is the specialty of software industry. You can earn good salary even if you are a lower level in the corporate hierarchy. Sometimes you can earn more than your manager.

So if you ask me which path I should follow, I will tell you do what you are good at. If you don’t know how to handle people, go for a product company but develop the skills necessary to get it in there. If your managerial skills are good, go for a services company. If you want to be an IT Entrepreneur, join a start up firm and you can learn the challenges of a start up by doing all the roles starting from developing a product or service to marketing.